Hello. My name is Lindsay. I am a Mom. And I am a pathological complainer.

I'm exhausted, my feet hurt, my neck won't turn to the right, I haven't peed by myself with the door closed in over 4 years, and when I ask my 4 year old to pick out her clothes for the day, she goes straight to the laundry room and digs through the piles until she finds what she wants to wear!

Sound familiar?!

I sure hope so!!!!


For the first time in a loooooong time, we made it to church this weekend!

 

Yep... all 4 of us! I even put Hunter in the nursery.... and if you know me AT ALL, you know how big that is for me ;-)

 

One of my biggest challenges in motherhood is trusting other people with my kids. I have extremely high expectations for MYSELF when it comes to them, I take my job very seriously, and I do a damn good job at being their Mama... 2 women handed me their babies to love and take care of and I do it with every single ounce of me. (Sorry for saying 'damn' ;-)

 

It's hard for me to even comprehend that someone else in this world 'might' be able to care for them even a fraction as well or as much as I do.

 

Hannah was 10 months old the first time I left her in the church nursery...she screamed the whole time and no one paged us so the next time I left her in the church nursery, she was 15 months old.

 

She was 16 months old the first time I hired a babysitter for her... and the rash on her butt because the sitter didn't change her took 2 different Rx creams and about 2 weeks to go away. The next time I left her with a sitter (that wasn't family), she was 2.5 years old... and then we moved. (I don't believe that it's a coincidence that she now goes to school only 35 minutes away from our new house... Molly; WE MISS YOU!!! :-))

 

Our church has many different campuses and each campus has an 'overflow' or 'cry room' that is somewhat more private and a little quieter than being in the service. We went to church about 6 months ago and kept Hunter with us in the overflow room... and it still didn't go well :-/ When we decided to go to church this weekend, I had NO intentions of leaving Hunter in the nursery! NONE.

 

And then we walked in and signed Hannah in.... my Daddy's words to me from almost 3 years ago echoed in my mind...

 

"There are very few people in the world who are patient and loving enough to volunteer their time to spend with babies and kids. God has given the people who volunteer in church nurseries a very special gift... and for you to not trust them with your baby is almost like denying them the ability to act on the gifts God gave them."

 

And he was so right.

 

So I left my 11 month old, 10 week premature, sometimes breathing-challenged, always snotty and coughing baby who sometimes hears and sometimes doesn't in the church nursery... with 6 women who's faces light up at the sight of those babies coming through the door.

 

I gave them a 'short' synopsis of Hunter's life (they put him in the baby-baby room instead of with kids his own age, since putting him with runners and crawlers when he just learned to sit doesn't really seem fair), and made sure they had my cell number so they could text me AND page me if they needed something... Yep... I'm 'that' mom.

And I am 100% ok with that ;-)

 

He did great!

 

And so did his Mama ;-)

 

It felt SO good to be back in church, singing praises to my Jesus, and sitting next to my handsome husband!

 

I expected no less than a punch-to-the-gut sermon on our first Sunday back ...

 

and that's what we got!

 

I could hi-light so many points from Sunday's sermon.... but I won't. What I WILL do is confess something to you...

 

something I am working to lay at the feet of Jesus.

 

I think one of the most challenging aspects of parenting is working hard to reign in our children's attitudes and defiance but being able to balance that with allowing them freedom and independence. I also think that the single most difficult part of parenting is not allowing our own attitudes and defiance to control our daily lives.

 

In short:

 

We're hypocrites.

And we're complainers.

 

Our list of daily complaints is long...

 

The laundry never ends! I can't take them anywhere! When will he finally sleep through the night?!

 

My confession; I complain entirely too much. I allow my list of complaints to overshadow my purpose... and all that God has called me to do... to be.

 

This week I'm making a new list and I would love your help...


Seeing the Hidden Blessings in Every Complaint!

 

"I've had enough of her attitude!"... But that attitude is what will make her a strong, independent woman.

 

"The laundry never ends!"... But my kids are active and so they get dirty!

 

"I just want him to sleep through the night!"... But I will enjoy every second I have with him when his cheeks are rosy and eyes are heavy with sleep and his body is limp against me... because one day, not too long from now, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and my arms will ache to hold him... but he'll be asleep ;-)

 

"I just want to be able to pee with the door closed!"... But one day I will find myself sitting by the phone just waiting to hear the voice of one of my babies... so I'll keep peeing with the door open so my kids don't kill each other and there will be someone to call me when that day comes ;-)

 

** Ok ok... so I'm stretching a few of these... but really, some of them require a little digging in order to change them from a complaint to a blessing ;-) **

 

"Why can't he just put his stinkin' coffee cup in the dishwasher when he gets home?!"... But what makes his coffee cup any different than the dozens of bottles and sippy cups I wash each day? He works hard so our kids can be raised daily by one of their parents... pretty sure i can handle one more cup to rinse and put on the rack.

 

"I am so sick of having sick kids!"... But sick kids = exposure to germs... and exposure to germs = exposure to other kids... and exposure to other kids = social, active, happy kids. So ok... sick kids it is... at least their happy and sick :-)

Your turn... please help me turn those complaints to blessings.... because we truly, every one of us, have been blessed with so so much!




** Disclaimer... sometimes complaining is just necessary. It's better than yelling or screaming or giving up so please, don't block me from seeing your FB status and don't stop leaving your honest comments.... we need to support each other and have a forum where it's safe and acceptable to complain sometimes! I just need a break from it for a few days... and I can't help but think that it'll do everyone some good to just turn some of those into blessings :-) **


And just to humble myself a little bit more...

Me; It's time to get dressed... go pick out you clothes for the day!
Hannah; Umm Mommy? Where are my clothes?
Me; Hmmm.... Either in the laundry room....

or on the living room floor...

:-/




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Change of Plans... A Video Post!

I had a great post to share with you tonight...

and then this happened.

And this is even more incredible...

So I'll save that post for another night :-)

(If you're new to Hunter's story, head over here to catch up on the miracle that is his life... and remember to scroll all the way down in order to start from the beginning ;-))

If you know Hunter's story, then you know that his first birthday is only weeks away... and you know that we were told over and over and over again that his first birthday would never come... and you know that we were told that, IF his first birthday DID come, his quality of life would be no where near that of a typical one year old...

and so you'll know that this video is just the beginning of one more miracle in this sweet boy's life :-)

And just in case you thought it was a fluke (like I did ;-)....

God is so good. He is so so good!

(Blogger is being SO difficult tonight because it knows how amazing my post is so please excuse the crappy video quality :-/... AND... also excuse my squeaky voice; we had been at this for 10 minutes before I grabbed my camera and by that time I was barely holding it together... about 10 seconds after the second video, I lost it ;-))

You Know You're a Mom When.....

We did a 'You Know You're a Mom When...' quite a while ago and it was so fun, not only to make my list but to read the hilarious one's you all came up with...

 

And I think it's time for another one! Be sure you leave your additions to our list in the comments either here or on Facebook and I'll add them to our list...

 

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* You haven't gone to the bathroom all day and find yourself super annoyed that someone closed the toilet seat because it's one extra step and 5 more seconds that you DON'T HAVE!

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* You make the extremely calculated decision that it is better to continue driving on 'E' because your baby is sleeping and would wake up if you stopped to get gas, rather than stop and have to deal with the after-math for the rest of the day.

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* You wish you had the time and/or energy to install a baby monitor in your shower so you could STOP opening the shower door every 10 seconds because you think you hear a baby crying.

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* A productive day consists of finally hand-washing the dish that had been through 6 dish washing cycles because it just doesn't seem like a good sacrifice of 3 minutes of your time.

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* It's taken you 6 months to sharpen your reflexes enough that you can catch spit-up or drool before it hits your shirt, no matter where it's coming from.

 

You Know You're a Mom When...

 

* A load of clothes that has only had to be washed twice before it makes it into the dryer is a huge accomplishment....

 

and when the musty smell on your clothes no longer bothers you.

 

Ok... YOUR TURN!!

 

You Know You're a Mom When....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter's New Ears!

Hi friends!

 

Today was a great day!

 

 

We arrived at the hospital at 5:00am with a hungry and exhausted Hunter.... keeping ANYONE from eating after midnight is rough but keeping a 10 month old from eating is nearly impossible! Still, he was in a really good mood and even managed to flirt with his admitting nurses ;-)

 

 

 

When the tube insertion was finished, Hunter's ENT came out to fill us in. He said that Hunter had what he calls 'Volcano Ears', meaning that his eardrums were overflowing with thick fluid.

 

As strange as this sounds, this was the BEST news we could have asked for!!

 

The ENT feels so strongly that this thick fluid explains Hunter's inability to sleep, poor balance, delays in his language development and probably another whole list of other things! He also compared the pressure in Hunter's head to the pressure you feel when you're ascending in an airplane.... except that Hunter could not relieve the extreme pressure by yawning or swallowing.

 

Even though we know that doing this procedure any sooner would not have given us the same answers, it's so hard knowing that he has been so uncomfortable and where it was coming from...

 

 :-(

 

Without yet knowing the results of the hearing test, and taking into account how much fluid he removed and how long it had been there, Hunter's ENT felt strongly that he would have some permanent (conductive) hearing loss.... how much, we won't know until he recovers fully from surgery.

 

The ABR (hearing screening) took about an hour after the tube insertion. When the test was over, the audiologist came out and took us to see Hunter in recovery.

 

Hunter did SO well throughout his surgery!! He maintained a stable heart rate and got through the procedure without any apneas or bradys. The anesthesia team knew our concerns about Hunter's asthma and instead of keeping him under general anesthesia the entire time, they brought him up to sedation for the ABR test... and this was a HUGE relief to us!

 

The audiologist gave us a few minutes to reconnect with our groggy boy before she debriefed us on her findings....

 

 

She explained that Hunter failed his ABR test again this morning but that it wasn't unexpected due to the extreme amount of fluid that was removed from his inner ear. Removing that much thick gunk that had been there for so long left his ears sensitive and inflamed, making the ABR results less reliable.

 

This was actually great news!

 

The audiologist was able to do a bone conduction test which they have never been able to do before because of our wiggly, active boy ;-) This test measures how sound travels directly through the bones in his ears and how well his brain is sending signals to his ears. The results of this test for both ears was excellent, meaning that his brain is sending the proper signals to the nerves in his ears!

 

Praise the Lord!!

 

Regardless of the results of this morning, we would have just been happy to find some relief for Hunter.... to come out of today knowing that he does hear and will hear even more, that his pain and discomfort will soon go away, and that he did have fluid in his ears is more than we could have asked for!

 

Our plan from here is to follow-up with Hunter's ENT next month and do another behavioral hearing test. Depending on the result of this test, we will know if we need to try a hearing aid or just give Hunter a little more time to adjust to his 'new ears'.

 

We can't thank you enough for your prayers and support! We have been inundated all day today with texts, calls, messages, emails, and comments.... to know that there are so many people who invest their time and prayers in our family means more than you know...

 

We are truly blessed!

 

And once again, God has held our precious boy in His strong, capable hands!

 

We have been told to give Hunter a few day to recover from surgery before we start analyzing any changes in his behavior or habits but I couldn't help a little analyzing this afternoon when Hunter took a THREE HOUR NAP with me! This is the longest nap he has ever taken...

 

and even if it only lasts for today, I'll take it!!

 

Going home with a sleepy boy :-)

 

 

More soon.....

Surgery on Tuesday! (+ Urgent Prayer Request)

Thank you so much for praying for Hunter over the past couple of days.... your encouragement means so much to us and has helped these few days go by a little bit faster ;-)

 

Hunter's pulmonologist said that his lungs sound great (YAY!) but his upper airways are pretty congested. She started him on Prednisone so we can be sure over the next few days that his airways stay open. If they do, and if his cold doesn't get any worse, he should be ok for surgery on Tuesday morning....

And that's our biggest prayer!

This surgery will open up a whole new world for him... whether the fluid clears up and his hearing is restored or if he needs a hearing aid; either way, it will be a big step forward for him... and for us :-)

As always, we'll keep you posted!


** Urgent prayer request;  I had never heard of Hydrops before Hunter (here and here) but we now know how dangerous and terrifying it is. I 'met' this Mama as I read through random comments on another blog and learned that the sweet baby girl she is carrying is surrounded by the same fluid.. and my heart breaks for her. She needs to carry this baby for 4 more weeks and could use the support and prayer I know you're all so faithful about! I thought it would be selfish to keep you all to myself ;-) We know better than anyone that our God performs miracles.... HUGE miracles! I believe He will do no less for Baby Brynlee, too!

We didn't have the chance to pray for Hunter on this side of his life.... before he was born. I know it wasn't by coincidence that the ONLY comment I read on that blog was Kim's comment about her baby girl. I can't get them off my mind and consider it an honor to be able to pray for Baby Brynlee on this side. Please pray for them.... for peace and comfort for Kim and her husband, that God will protect their sweet Lilianna's heart and allow her to be a big sister, that He will hold Baby Brynlee just like He has held Hunter... and specifically, that He will take this fluid away; that it won't be allowed the chance to hurt her. Pray for a miracle, friends.

I know that once you read their story, you'll become their prayer warriors, too but I will keep you posted as Kim and her husband learn more over the next few weeks. Every week that Baby Girl is allowed to grow in her Mama' belly is an answer to prayer and one more chance for her to grow stronger.... each day counts! **

And I can't end a post without a picture of our sweet babies.... our precious Valentine's ;-)

 

Aren't they just the cutest?!?!? I can't get enough :-)

 



Big Things Coming.... Pray, Please?

We have known for quite some time that Hunter has some hearing loss....

 

The dog barks, the vacuum is turned on right next to him, the blender, a certain 4 year old's yelling ;-)....

 

There are many days when we wonder if he's even deaf.

 

Any preemie faces a number of possibilities and unknowns for their future.... learning disabilities, hearing loss, blindness, other physical or developmental delays.... many of them take lots of time to show up.

 

Deafness (well, none of them, really) has never been a concern of ours.

 

Not that it was never a 'maybe'.... but if it was ever even a 'reality, it didn't matter!

 

Our baby who 'should' have had numerous heart surgeries by now, can't hear...

 

So freakin' what?!

 

:-)

 

Just the truth.

 

We find ourselves confused, at times because we know he heard and responded to noises when we first brought him home.... so we've always suspected that fluid was causing his hearing to come and go.

 

Hunter has failed his newborn hearing screening 4 times and we just recently had a lull in 'more urgent' matters so we were finally able to see an ENT....

 

This was a LONG awaited visit!

 

Hunter is developing and growing by leaps and bounds every day.... his language, sitting, crawling, walking.... all milestones we anxiously await because, one day, we were told he never would...

 

and now we know he will.

 

We don't know when or how or what will happen between here and there but we know he'll do it all!

 

Our job is to help him get there.

 

The ENT confirmed that Hunter is experiencing about a 50-60% hearing loss due to lots and lots of thick fluid in his ears....

 

which explains why he has the most terrible ... non-existent?... balance!

 

:-)

 

It also explains why he wakes up crying that high pitch, painful cry every 2 hours... why he doesn't nap... why he hates laying down but gets frustrated because what else is he supposed to do?!... why his mouth forms words perfectly but he doesn't know what sound goes with what word...

 

This was the most amazing news that the ENT could have told us!

 

50-60?!?! That's NOTHING! That means he  DOES hear 40-50% of the time!!!

 

We'll take it :-)

 

He also noticed, as we do, that Hunter takes all of his social cues from faces... if he can't see a face, he doesn't know what's going on; should he be happy? Sad? Scared? Should he feel secure and safe?  

 

If I'm holding him and talking to someone next to me, he will put his tiny hand on my face and turn it toward him.... if Mama's happy, so is he :-) He just needs a face to see!

 

I imagine this is also why he wakes so often at night.... not only does fluid hurt :-( but think about waking up, in the dark, and not being able to hear! It just breaks my heart.

 

We went in to our appointment a few weeks ago only wanting to know what we can/should be doing... where do we sign up for sign language classes? Does he need cochlear implants? Are we just over-reacting?!

 

No.... to all of it.

 

Next Tuesday Hunter will get tubes put in his ears...

 

such a routine, normal surgery.

 

But not for us.

 

Once his tubes are in place, the audiology team will do another hearing test while Hunter is still asleep to measure the air-flow in his eardrums...

 

and we will know right away if his hearing loss is temporary, meaning it will be restored with tubes, or if it's permanent. If it is permanent, the most he will ever need is a hearing aid or 2!!

 

We are counting the hours until Tuesday morning!

 

As we get closer to his surgery, we have a couple prayer requests...

 

(And I love that, even though we weren't able to ask for prayer publicly in Hunter's first few months of  life, that we can now.... I love it!)

 

 

So... if you think about it;

 

1) If you read this post, you know that Hunter has a cold... no big deal.... unless you're scheduled to be under anesthesia in 5 days :-/ Hunter's cold is worse. We have an appointment tomorrow morning with his pulmonologist to see if there's anything we can do in the next few days to open his airways and clear up this cold so he can have his surgery.

 

My worst fear is that, because of his history, surgery will be cancelled if his cough and cold are still like they are today. His airways have been sensitive enough in the past, I know they won't even try surgery unless they're clear. (Of course we don't want them to take chances, but we know that getting this fluid out of his ears will open up a whole new world of development for him! We want it so badly for him... and you know how hard it is for us to wait  ;-))

 

 

 

2) Hunter had minor surgery back in October and flew threw it ... no apneas, no breathing issues, and he handled anesthesia well....

 

But.

 

It's still anesthesia. And it still affects your breathing. And his Cardiologist has given her ok... and we're praying for his pulmonologist's ok.

 

But it's still our Hunter.

 

Above all, I am trying to remember that God holds this life in his hands... and even if I had the choice to move him to someone else's hands, I wouldn't.

 

He's in good hands.

 

Capable. Strong. Faithful. Miraculous hands.

 

So maybe our 2nd prayer request is for his Mama ;-)

 

 

 

That's it. Please pray that his cold and cough clear up and that he handles anesthesia well.

 

Uneventful-ness is our prayer :-)

 

Here's the thing about the past 10 months of our lives.... 10 of the most amazing and exciting and challenging and trying months of our lives... full of tests of faith... and promises of grace.... and peace, even among fear...

 

But every time I start to worry and start to get scared and doubt and wonder and question...

 

Something happens that shuts me up.

 

God does something every single time that I take as His way of saying, "Seriously, Lindsay?! After all of this?! Trust me. Just trust."

 

When these moments have come in the past, sometimes we've seen huge miracles and sometimes we've seen small victories.... but all of them are HUGE to us.... reasons to celebrate.

 

Well... Yesterday was no different.

 

I was worried and scared and had so many questions...

 

Has the fluid been there too long? Has the damage already been done? Will this keep him from sitting and talking and walking? We waited so long to take him in.... is this our fault?!

 

And I sat down to play with my son while his big sister was napping and this happened....

 

 

Just like that. SITTING!!! ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!

 

"Worry and fear and doubt.... I expect them. But do not for a second underestimate me. I hold this child in the palm of my hand. I am the only one capable of loving him more... yes, even more than you. So let go. And let me."

 

God said that to me yesterday.... and I got His message loud and clear ;-)

 

 

Thank you for praying, friends... thank you for loving us and for being there to celebrate these amazing, exciting, though seemingly small milestones with us. We are so thankful for you!

 

And we'll keep you posted!

 

 



Happy Graduation, Sweet Boy!

Friends, we have had SUCH a great week!!

Hunter's DocBand graduation could not have been better..... this boy's head looks amazing :-)

We took one last DocBand photo before his last set of digital images was taken...

(Ready for his pictures!)

Are you ready?!?!?

Before....

After.....



CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!?!

Daddy was even able to make it to graduation and he got the very first round-headed snuggles....

Hunter received his DocBand diploma and we will proudly display this symbol of his growth and development with his Apnea certificate!

AND.... to celebrate this special day, we had a fun dinner at Outback (Hannah's favorite restaurant ;-)) with Tata (my daddy)....

And then we headed over to Build A Bear so we could make a special friend who can wear Hunter's DocBand forever...

And Sis got a special friend, too of course....



She bathed them...

And she named them.... Rapunzel Hannah Smith and DocBand Monkey Smith ;-)



YAY!!!! I DID IT!!!!

** I have a few great posts coming up..... a HUGE prayer request for a friend, a HUGE prayer request for Hunter, and another HUGE milestone to share ;-) **

Goodbye Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly!!

Tomorrow is a BIG day for our little guy!!

Because Hunter was in the NICU for so long, and because he laid on his back for so long, and since it takes preemies a little longer to hit milestones such as sitting and rolling over, Hunter ended up having Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly that developed over the first couple of months after he came home.

In short.... he had a flat and wide head.

;-)

When Hunter was first measured for his DocBand, we were told that he would wear it for 12-14 weeks.....

(He wasn't too thrilled about the DocBand fitting process....)

The standard DocBand is plain white and well, it felt and looked way too medical and harsh for such a handsome boy....

So I had it painted.....

MUCH better!!

(Disclaimer... Joey was not completely involved in the designing process; boys get to be all sports and dirt for their entire lives so I took the only opportunity I might ever have to claim my Mama's Boy ;-))

Hunter and his sweet friend, Jennings overlapped on their DocBand treatment! I just LOVE these sweet heads....

Hunter wears his band 23 hours a day and is supposed to get a one hour break per day so we can bathe him and clean his band.... we don't have the most tolerable patient ever so he actually wears it 24 hours a day and we clean him and his band every other or every 2 days. Gross, I know.... and even though their heads get super stinky, it's better this way... trust me ;-) 



As of tomorrow, Hunter has had his band for only 8 weeks...

And tomorrow he will GRADUATE!! 

Such a quick DocBand treatment is very telling of how quickly and how well our sweet boy is growing.... and that is the very best news out of it all ;-)

Tomorrow we will say 'goodbye' to Hunter's DocBand and will say 'HELLO!' to his perfectly round, sweet-smelling head!  

It is very difficult to snuggle with a DocBand-ed baby and I simply CANNOT WAIT to snuggle his new head....

And I'll post pics of it as soon as I can!

AND... We'll be posting one prayer request later this week.... it might seem small to everyone else, but to us it's huge... and we just know it will end with one more miracle ;-)

** We firmly believe that there is nothing we could have done to avoid Hunter's Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly, due to ALL of the factors that played into his first months of life! BUT.... though we have always known that Tummy Time is important for infants, I'm not quite sure we ever knew exactly WHY it was so important. Now we know....

I know it's annoying when doctors emphasize something that most babies aren't too thrilled about.... but please, if you have a young baby, don't skip Tummy Time!** 



A Note to You, Funfetti, and Meatballs!

My reasons for starting and maintaining this blog are purely selfish...

 

I don't have too many 'vices' (though, Joey might think differently ;-)), and my schedule these days doesn't allow for sufficient time to exercise... But I have to do something to vent....

 

So I write.

 

Writing is such a release for me! I'm an emotional and introspective person by nature but have also learned that the best way for me to explore and understand my thoughts and feelings is to write them out.

 

When I started On Loan From Heaven, it was just for me. To be completely honest, I don't remember how people even started reading it! When I open blogger and see the hundreds of people who read each post, I'm completely overwhelmed that that many people find my thoughts good enough to take time out of their day to read!

 

I guess that means I think too much ;-)

 

I'm honored.... and completely humbled! Your comments and emails and messages mean more to me than you know! When you share your own story with me, I'm honored that you trust me with it... and I pray for each of you! When you share a status or post, we get excited that you're helping us tell the the story that God is writing for us.

 

Our family has grown exponentially through this blog.... and we are grateful for every one of you!

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

I realized the other day that I haven't posted any recipes lately and I have some super fun one's to share!!

 

We hosted our first Super Bowl party last weekend and since it fell on Joey's birthday, we had lots of reasons to celebrate and spend time with some amazing friends.... we had a blast!

 

In prepping for our party, I relied fully on Pinterest... doesn't everyone!?

 

What would I do without Pinterest?!

 

My clothes wouldn't match.

 

My haircut would be outdated.

 

Our house would be a disorganized mess (wait.... still have work to do on that one ;-)).

 

And my family would starve. For real.

 

 

I found two recipes, in particular, that people still comment on a week after the party! I thought I'd share them with you :-)

 

 

The first is Funfetti Chex-Mix. Yes... you read that right. Two of the most delicious snacks combined to make one super easy,  super addicting, and incredibly dangerous treat! Keep this in mind for ANY party.... and it would be especially fun for a class party for kids (I'm thinking Valentine's Day)!

 

Funfetti Chex-Mix

 

Ingredients:

5 Cups Rice Chex cereal

10oz. (5 squares) white chocolate coating (aka; Almond Bark)

1.5 Cups Funfetti cake mix

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vegetable shortening (I had this on hand but did not use it)

 

 

Directions: 

1) Melt coating (almond bark) according to package directions (add vegetable shortening to thin, if needed... I didn't need it).

 

2) Pour the cereal into a LARGE bowl and drizzle the melted coating over the cereal. Mix gently with a large spatula.

 

3) Dump cake mix and powdered sugar onto the cereal and mix gently until all cereal is evenly coated.

 

4) Optional (but highly suggested by me ;-)): While your Funfetti Chex-Mix is still damp from the coating, sprinkle your favorite, colorful sprinkles into the mixture to add some fun color!

 

Warning.... This treat is HIGHLY addicting!!

 

 

 

CrockPot Hawaiian Meatballs

 

Ingredients:

32oz package of precooked, frozen meatballs (I used a Sam's Club size bag, tho)

13.5oz can of unsweetened pineapple chunks (save juice and set aside)

1 large green pepper, diced

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 cup white vinegar

2Tbsp. soy sauce

 

Directions:
Place meatballs in crock pot and top with green pepper and drained pineapple chunks. In a separate bowl, mix reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour sauce over meatballs, pineapple and green peppers. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through.

* Serve over rice or noodles or serve straight out of CrockPot with toothpicks!*

 

 

SO YUMMY and such a big hit!

 

 



Us + Hunter = Faith. Hunter + Faith = Grace

So here we are....

 

10 months after the premature birth of our son...

 

9 months since the day we first layed eyes on him...

 

7 months since the day he finally came home...

 

and

 

2 months until his 1st birthday.

 

His 1st birthday....

 

the one that never 'should' have come.

 

 

When Joey and I walked into that NICU for the first time, layed eyes on our son for the first time, and spoke to his doctors for the first time, we were given a worst-case-scenario explanation of Hunter's future...

 

We were told that he would have developmental delays due to his prematurity...

 

We were told that there was a very large chance that he would have CP...

 

We were told that, at the very least, he would have 2 open heart surgeries by his 1st birthday...

 

That his activity would be limited for the rest of his life...

 

That his life might be short...

 

That, if he made it that far, he might not be able to go to a 'normal' school.

 

 

Those 'maybe's' and 'might's' and 'probably's'....

 

the whole list of them...

 

We were ok with them.

 

Maybe we weren't experts on CP or prematurity or heart surgeries or limiting activities of a growing boy but so what?!

 

He was ours.

 

Just like a baby who is delivered and goes home with the Mama who gave birth to him...

 

there was no argument that he was ours....

 

and so was everything that came with him.

 

 

 

Here we are, quickly approaching Hunter's 1st birthday...

 

No heart surgery and none in his future and I dare you to just TRY and limit his activity ;-)!

 

 

I think back to that day.... and to the many many days that follow...

 

I look at our son and I wonder...

 

"Was that HIM!? THAT baby. The one with all of that STUFF. The stuff that we were OK with!"

 

and then...

 

"Thank you, LORD for your grace and faithfulness.... thank you for holding him and for protecting him... and for HEALING him!"

 

but...

 

"But, Lord.... as grateful as we are.... and as we forever will be.... you didn't have to do that.... because we were ok with all of it!"

 

And in the past, so many times, I've gotten stuck right there...

 

We were ok.... and felt prepared.... and felt so much peace about the fact that this precious baby boy...

 

He was the one we had been waiting for.

 

Yes, our lives changed immediately.

 

The future we had envisioned looked ... well, we didn't know how it looked...

 

but we were over the moon.

 

He was here.

 

FINALLY.

 

And with all of that STUFF that we were ok with... that we researched and asked about...

 

 

God didn't have to heal him.

 

 

Because ....

 

 

He just didn't.

 

 

We didn't do anything to 'deserve' His grace or miracles.

 

 

These thoughts have been floating around in my mind for months...

 

 

And for months I've wondered why He chose to perform miracles in our lives...

 

I've even wondered how in the world He saw US fit to be this precious miracle's parents!

 

 

But yesterday...

 

Joey and Hannah took my car to buy a new dishwasher...

 

and my car has Hunter's carseat in it.

 

 

Hunter had been showing cold symptoms for a couple days and I was very careful to keep up with the saline and suctioning and nebulizer treatments (for asthma).

 

Joey and Hannah left and I gave Hunter a bath.... Hunter LOVES his bath!

 

But last night he was agitated.

 

He didn't want to soak and play like he normally does so I washed him quickly, wrapped him up, and took him into the living room to put his PJ's on him.

 

I laid him down, patted him dry, and stopped.

 

His breathing wasn't right. I looked at his chest and he was retracting. I dressed him and picked him up. He was starting to panic like he couldn't calm his body down enough to get those deep breaths that he knew he needed. I tried to feed him to calm him down but he couldn't breath well enough to eat. I tried his paci... same story. I walked him, sang to him, rocked him and nothing was working.

 

This same thing had happened a couple times before where it seemed like he had an anxiety attack.... his breathing gets shallow, he gets agitated, wants to cry but can't, wants to eat but can't... but I've always been able to find a way to calm him enough that he is able to stabilize his breathing.

 

The problem was that I had given him a breathing treatment only an hour earlier and, even though doctor's can do it, I'm not supposed to give him more than one treatment every 4-6 hours...

 

Albuterol can raise your heart rate and because of Hunter's history, a second treatment can only be given when he's hooked up to heart monitors.

 

I had already called Joey and knew he was on his way home but he was still 35 minutes away, which means I wouldn't be able to get him to an ER for another hour...

 

The bath, fussiness, agitation.... All I could think about was that day....

 

So I called 911.

 

"Yes, he's breathing but it's not normal. He's retracting in his chest and neck. I don't know if he's clammy... he just got out of the bath. I don't know if he's shivering because he's cold from the bath or because he's shaking. All I know is that I know this baby and I know how he breathes and he's NOT BREATHING THE RIGHT WAY and I can't get him to the ER."

 

The fire department got here first and they saw that he was retracting so they started giving him Oxygen right away....

 

Hunter was agitated and was still very aware of the *many* new faces and fought the O2 mask.

 

About 20 seconds later, he took that breath... the deep one that he needed.

 

And then he relaxed in my arms.

 

The paramedics arrived and listened to his chest and said that, while he wasn't wheezing anymore, his chest was really congested. He had a low grade fever but it was nothing note-worthy. They had no immediate concerns and felt that he just needed that extra help to get his breathing under control so he could calm down.

 

The paramedics were here for about 20 minutes. They watched him closely and as time went on he was able to suck on his paci, drink his bottle, and even make flirty eyes at his sister. We refused transport to the hospital because we already had an appt with his pediatrician for early this morning and by the time the medics left, Hunter was jumping in my lap and was laughing....

 

he was ok.

 

Me?

 

Not so much.

 

Sorry, sweet boy... that day ruined me.

 

I got in bed last night and spent some time thanking the Lord for, once again, holding our son.... his son... in His hands.

 

And, once again, I thought about the 'might's' and 'maybe's' and 'probably's'.... and I thought about how we were ok, maybe thought we were even ready, for all of them.... and I thought about how God didn't have to perform all of those miracles.... and I thought about how undeserving we are of those miracles....

 

 

and then I realized....

 

 

Of course we didn't deserve them! We didn't do anything to deserve this life or our children or even His grace and love...

 

But Hunter?

 

HE deserves those miracles.

 

Maybe we have been chosen as the vehicle by which this sweet boy will grow, and we will do everything we can to teach him everything we can about Jesus and the sacrifices He made for us... for him... and we will do everything we can to meet his physical needs as he gets older, and we'll stay CPR certified for the rest of our lives ;-), and will tell him the story of his life as many times as he will listen...

 

but God gave him life and will give him life...

 

He will bring to fruition the amazing, unbelievable, inconceivable plan that He has had for that sweet boy's life....

 

He will continue to perform miracles...

 

but not for me and Joey...

 

He'll do it for Hunter...

And for every life that Hunter's story has and will continue to touch.

 

So we will continue to do what we have done since the day we met him....

 

We will remember the day we met him every single day... because that day and the memory of who Hunter was and who he was *supposed* to be that day keeps us grounded...

 

We will remember that faith doesn't come easily.... and it doesn't come naturally... and it isnt' always easy or logical or comfortable...

 

but it's always worth it.

 

Our son?

 

He deserves our faith.

 

Our children?

 

They deserve it.

 

Your children?

 

They deserve your faith, too.

 

They deserve to know that none of us deserve God's grace but that He gives it anyway.

 

And His grace?

 

It isn't free.

 

No matter what people say!

 

Because without faith, there is no grace...

 

And without grace.... there would be no Hunter.

 

So for me, tonight...

 

My son personifies grace....

 

And I will continue to have faith in the plan that God has for his life....

 

even when I'm panicked... and it's hard to breathe...

Us + Hunter = Faith

Hunter + Faith = Grace

Insert your children's names .... it works for them, too ;-)